How to Make Kale Smoothies You Actually Want to Drink

The hype about kale doesn’t seem to be dying down anytime soon. Kale-related puns are swirling through the internet (What doesn’t kale you makes you stronger! Kale, yeah!), and everyone and their mother seems to be finding enjoyable ways of consuming this crunchy vegetable.

But every time you make a kale smoothie, it tastes like grainy, ground-up grass. What are you doing wrong?

You have to admit, the stuff is pretty good for you. It’s extremely nutritious, seeing as it’s stuffed with 45 different flavonoids, packed with anti-oxidants, and filled with fiber.

If you’re not a fan of salads, one easy way to pop some kale into your diet is green smoothies. But if you’ve ever tried incorporating kale into your smoothies before, you know that it doesn’t always work out exactly as planned. With its bitter, peppery flavor, kale takes a little coaxing to balance right in a beverage.

For any kind of kale smoothie, there are a few simple tricks you can try. For one, you can use baby kale instead of the full stalks. It’s more expensive, but it’s also a lot gentler and less crunchy. You can also freeze the kale in advance to tone down its bitter flavor. But above all, you should mask the taste of kale with other delicious ingredients. These recipes are filled with sweet, interesting combinations of other foods that actually make kale smoothies you’ll want to drink.